Never loved
by angel-of-the-assbutts
Summary: Wheatley, an intern at Aperture, is giving the simple task of watching over Chell while he works. He's never been good at simple tasks, or any tasks at all.
1. Intern

_That's what learning is, after all; not whether we lose the game, but how we lose and how we've changed because of it and what we take away from it that we never had before, to apply to other games. Losing, in a curious way, is winning._

_-Richard Bach_

* * *

Chell sat impatiently at a desk. Normally, these offices were a sardine can of people, but down here it was empty. Most of the staff at Aperture had either been fired, quit, or had 'mysteriously vanished' while being a test subject. The only person who seemed to be stagnant was the man in front of her. He was an intern at the facility and had been given the task of 'watching' Chell while her father was at work with the Genetic Life form and Disc Operating System. It surprised her that the intern still had a job. He was incredibly clumsy, and came up with the most terrible ideas she had ever heard.

He had told Chell his name; Wheatley. In a strange way it matched his personality. Wheatley was a lot like wheat; he had sandy hair, eyes the color of the sky, was incredibly tall, and just sat around being useless until someone plucked him up and put him to work. Naturally he wasn't given any task a five year old couldn't do.

Wheatley gathered the papers he had been organizing over the past half-hour and looked up at her.

"Right, we should move on to the next task," he said.

Finally, Chell thought. She was tired of watching him take twenty times longer than normal people on easy tasks.

She got up and followed him out the door. As they wandered the halls, Chell marveled at how complex Aperture was. It formed an intricate labyrinth of offices, laboratories, and test chambers. Wheatley seemed to know his way around pretty well. It didn't surprise, seeing as how he had worked her for about 4 years.

Eventually they reached an elevator and got in. On the way up, Wheatley found the need to explain what was going to happen. He talked incessantly, a trait that had not shown up in Chell. She rarely spoke, and when she did it was only in necessary circumstances.

"So," he explained, "What we are doing next is a systems check on Her."

'Her' was how Wheatley addressed GLaDOS. He seemed to not enjoy saying the name, which confused Chell since all other personnel said it without a second thought. Then again, he was a lot more of a coward than most people. It reminded Chell of a little kid seeing a lion for the first time.

"Relatively simple," he continued, "Only that… we will need to turn Her on; and She'll probably kill us as soon as She can."

That seemed to be the only real issue with GLaDOS. All in all she was a perfect machine, a true marvel of science; except for the fact that she murdered whoever turned her on. The lab boys were still working on that. It didn't help that the person they had turned into GLaDOS, Caroline, had done so completely against her will and shortly after the death of her employer, Cave Johnson. Cave Johnson had created Aperture and lead it through triumphs and hard times, including the near-bankruptcy in the sixties.

When they got out of the elevator, Chell noticed the drastic change in environment. Where the offices were bright and inviting with colorful walls and various propaganda posters, this room was dark and cold. All the walls were black, making it look uninviting even without the metal beast at the center. Chell had never seen GLaDOS, but she could tell this was her. Even powered off, she gave off a feeling of pure hatred and anger.

Wheatley walked into a small and Chell followed. Apparently this was where GLaDOS was turned on. The office wasn't very impressive; it only contained a desk and a small computer. He proceeded to sit down and turn on the computer, typing mad strings of codes that she had no clue about. If there was one thing Chell was bad at, it was computers. Wheatley, however, seemed to be doing pretty well. That is, until it came to the password. Whoever had decided against tattooing all of the company passwords on his arms was seriously mistaken.

"Alright," Wheatley reassured himself, "Let's get started; AAAAA, uh, A"

_*BEEP_*

"Okay; AAAAAC"

_*BEEP*_

"Oh, I forgot B, didn't I? We should probably write this down. Actually, let's just skip ahead, because the password is probably not going to be something simple, just putting that out there. The password is definitely going to be something difficult; but, uh, let the games begin. Okay: ABCDG, um, H."

_*Ding*_

"Wait, that actually worked? Yes! I did it! I hacked it! Ah, that is brilliant!"

Another thing with Wheatley was that he hated letting people down and was almost addicted to successes, no matter how small they were. That trait did not get along well with the idea-making part of his brain, which worked really hard but was completely terrible at its job; not unlike Wheatley himself.

GLaDOS started to power on and, although could tell he wanted to cower behind the desk, Wheatley walked slowly out of the office and towards the machine, Chell trailing behind. It took about thirty seconds until the power startup was complete and GLaDOS turned her unblinking yellow eye at them.

_"Hello there"_

Wheatley trembled but kept his stance, looking back up at the eye. To tell the truth, Chell was nervous as well. It wasn't every day you spoke to a murderous, omnipotent robot. She expected it would not happen again after this.

"Uh, hello," Wheatley said, "Just doing a systems check, please don't kill us. I know you don't like people, but this girl next to me, she doesn't actually work here. So by killing us, you're killing an innocent civilian."

He was fidgeting with his tie in order to keep himself from running away. GLaDOS just stared at them curiously, as if she were trying to remember something.

"_Who said anything about killing?"_

"Oh, uh, nobody really; just that you do kill people quite often."

_"Those people deserved to die."_

"Oh, I'm not saying that they didn't! I'm just saying that… we don't, and that, uh, maybe there's something better we could do?"

_"You're completely right; there is something better you can do."_

Wheatley's eyes widened in realization that he had not said the right thing at all.

"Wh-what's that?"

GLaDOS chuckled as she carefully picked up a trembling Wheatley from around the waist. He looked completely terrified and so was Chell, although she was keeping her cool fairly well.

_"Science."_

Chell felt the ground open beneath her and she dropped down into the test chamber below.

* * *

Wheatley trembled inside Her arm. He has just made a huge mistake. Again. Only this time someone innocent was involved and was probably going to die because of him.

"_You realize I could just kill you right now?"_

Wheatley did know, and that's what scared him.

"Wh-why aren't you then- killing me, I mean?"

"_Because you're right; there is something better for you to do. You are going to help me in a little experiment. All you need to do is be yourself, and in exchange I let you live."_

"Alright"

Wheatley didn't quite know what was going to happen, but he trusted Her. It didn't make sense, he just did. Besides, this way he might be able to help Chell.


	2. Trust issues

A/N Listening to 'The Wheatley song'. Inspiration begins.

* * *

Wheatley wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do. All She'd said was "be yourself". Well, right now himself was telling him to help Chell. She should be close to the catwalk where She had dropped him. Hopefully she wouldn't be too mad at him. Wheatley kept telling this to himself as he found a broken panel which led into a test chamber. Luckily for him, this was the one Chell was just entering, portal gun in hand. She jumped a little at the sight of him.

"Hello! I'm here to get you out."

Chell glared at him, walked forward, and slapped him across the cheek.

"OW! What was that for?"

"For getting me stuck down here."

"Alright, I understand that you're angry; I would be too, but I'm making it up to you by helping you get _out_."

"No."

"What? What do you mean 'no'? I'm bloody giving you a free ticket out and you say 'no'?"

"I'll get out on my own, thank you very much. I'm also a lot less likely to be betrayed if I'm on my own.'

"Now why would I betray you? I'm her to _help you_!"

"Come on, it's pretty clear you're teamed up with Her, otherwise you'd be dead by now. You're just going to turn me in so She can kill me."

"I-I'm not a bloody double agent here! I want to be out of this place just as much as you do, and I can't just kill a bloody civilian!"

"Don't you get it; I DON'T TRUST YOU! Now get out of here!"

"B-but…"

"Now."

"Okay."

Wheatley dragged himself back through the hole he had come from. He glanced back at Chell as a final hope, then gave up and left. Chell continued the test with ease, clearing her mind of all thoughts and only concentrating on the task ahead. Back on the catwalk and very confused, Wheatley paces around, trying to think up a plan. When he can't think of one, he finds the nearest camera and begins to speak to it.

"What am I supposed to do now? She bloody hates me!"

"_I'm sorry, I can't help you. Really, it's programed in me so that I am not able to choose sides unless one side endangers my existence. You're on your own."_

"Maybe-maybe if I prove that I'm not bad she'll come with me! I'll just have to help her in all these tests."

"_Good luck with that, you'll need it."_

So Wheatley set out to prove himself. He wasn't quite sure how one proved oneself, but he was sure to figure it out. It probably had something to do with _not _doing anything he's done before. So far Wheatley wasn't off to a good start. It was going to be hard, and normally he would just give up; but something was making him do this, and it was something new to him. Whatever it was, it wanted Chell to like him.

Wheatley made a plan: in each chamber he would do something to help Chell until she trusted him. Then he would help her get back to her father. The only thing is; he needed Her help. That thought didn't really make Wheatley jump for joy, in fact it rather frightened him. Teaming up with a mad robot was never a good thing, but it was his only option.

"Hey, I know you're not able to choose sides, but could you at least _tell _me what the tests will contain?"

"_What's in it for me?"_

"Well, I'll make sure I stay on the team that works with You, and I'll keep them from shutting You down."

"_That's one of the worst ideas I've heard. I like it. Tell you what, you help me and I'll help you. Deal?"_

"Deal."

Wheatley was pretty sure he'd just done something terrible, but that didn't really matter. As long as he could help Chell, it was fine.

"How will I help you?"

"_I haven't decided yet; I'll get back to you later. The next test involves light bridges."_

The camera shut off. That meant She wasn't watching him anymore. In any other circumstance Wheatley would have sprinted to the nearest exit, but it was his job to protect Chell, and that's what he was going to do no matter what. Wheatley could not stand to fail at his job, even if failing meant his safety while success might kill him.

She had said the next test involved light bridges. Wheatley had never seen those before, but it couldn't be too hard. Hopefully. The hard part would be being secretive. He entered the chamber, checking for Chell. Luckily, she had not entered. There should be plenty of time for Wheatley to secretly help Chell. He found the usual button, hit it, grabbed the cube, brought it to the entrance, and left, watching the room through a crack in the wall.

Chell walked into the room and found herself face to face with a cube. She had no clue how it had gotten there, the dropper was almost impossible to reach. Not trusting it, she dropped the cube in the pool of toxic waste near her. She then hit the button and got a new cube.

Back in the catwalk, Wheatley sighed. It was going to be much harder if Chell remained so untrusting. How was he to help her if she keeps shutting out the help? It was pointless, mad!

"_Wow, that's cold. I should know, I've experienced pretty cold things. Nothing this bad, though."_

That was true, but Wheatley wasn't about to give up. This was his one task and he was going to complete it no matter what. That was all that mattered; doing his job. It was the motto taught to all Aperture staff: Testing is the future and the future starts with you. Cheesy as it sounded, that was true. The world today was run by science, and Aperture was just one of the many companies forwarding it. Black Mesa was another, and was their biggest competition besides the government and human rights activists.

"So, what's in the next test chamber?"

"_That's it? You're just bouncing back up and trying again?"_

"Yeah, I've always been kind of an optimist."

"_Optimism is a fool's tool to make themselves feel better."_

That tested Wheatley's patience. Optimism happened to be a rather popular thing, not just for fools, thank you very much. He would have said that had he not been talking to an omnipotent AI.

"I think it works rather well, then."

Silence. Wheatley wondered if She had turned off the camera in disgust when Her voice came back on.

"_The next test has turrets."_

* * *

A/N

When little old Wheatley says 'there's trouble behind that door' you'd better pay attention, 'cause I'm the Wheatley core- and if you aren't shaking, the there's something very wrong, because this may be the last time that you hear the Wheatley song. Whoah _Whoah _Whoah _Whoah _Ooh _Ooh He's the evil Wheatley core._

I have to stop listening to that…

I guess I'll put on 'Why, Wheatley, Why' and get out the tissues.

Yay portal 2!


	3. Choices

A/N

Busy busy busy! Sorry I took so long! Here we are though!"

* * *

"Fantastic. Great. Just what I need. What am I supposed to do?"

"_As I said before, I can't help you. Rules are rules, you know."_

"Yea, rules are bloody rules, I know." Wheatley sighed, "I'll see you in a minute."

"_Hopefully."_

"What do you mean?"

"_Wheatley, I like you, so I'll make you an offer. You prove Chell trusts you, and I'll let you both go."_

"Great! Wait, what's the catch?"

"_She doesn't trust you, and I get to kill her."_

Here is where one of Wheatley's few useful traits came in. Where any other person in this case would be very nervous, he was completely nonchalant, thinking only of the positive turnout.

"Deal!"

"_Good."_

The camera shut off, leaving Wheatley by himself. He wanted to lie down and sleep for about 12 hours, but by that time Chell would be long gone, one way or another. He had to trudge on, like she was, in order to prove himself. Still, it wouldn't hurt if he could have a five minute rest every now and then.

Deciding to move on, Wheatley found a door into the chamber and entered. Turrets were going to be an issue; he had seen them work, and how quickly a test subject went from walking to lying in a body bag, and it was frighteningly quick. Quicker than it to him to screw something up.

Inside, Wheatley wished he'd brought a bullet proof vest, or a wall, or even an apple. He instantly recognized the turrets, six of them facing the wall to his left. If he played his cards right (figuratively, of course; he'd never actually played cards), Wheatley could knock them down without risking injury to himself. He started with the one nearest him, kicking it awkwardly with his foot. He didn't like the screaming they made, it was a little _too _human for his taste.

At the third turret, Wheatley heard the chamber door open. He looked up to see Chell enter the room, glance around, then notice him and stare accusingly and inquiringly at him.

"H-hello! Just, uh, getting rid of these," He jumbled out as he kicked the third one over, making sure it didn't hit Chell. Unfortunately, it was aimed at his right leg, and he had to jump to avoid getting hit, "Heh heh, tricky little devils. Anyway, I'll be out of your hair in just a moment. I just wanted to help you out. That's also why I left the box for you."

"You left that?" Chell's expression hadn't changed.

"Yeah! Just doing whatever I can to make things easier for you!"

"How about letting me escape?" She asked accusingly

"W-well, umm, how to put this… there's a slight-uh-hitch in escaping, in that I can't actually help you do that. Not yet, at least. But I promise I will! Just… not now."

"Then I don't need you helping me."

"Oh come on, how stubborn can one person get! You are bloody difficult, you are."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm trying to help you so you can trust me, but you just won't believe that. Well, let me know when you can see past yourself and I'll be happy to help. Until then you're on your own!"

"Fine, I don't even want your help"

"Fine! See if I care whether you die or not."

Wheatley stormed out, then sat down moodily on the cat walk."

"_That went well."_

"Go ahead, let it all out right now, because I won't have the patience later."

"_Very well. For the record, that was the worst performance I've ever seen. Worse than homeless people in test chambers. I don't blame you, though."_

"Yeah?"

"_I blame her."_

"I may have to agree with you."

"_Does this mean I get to kill her?"_

"No, not yet."

"_Fine, have it your way. Wanna know the next chamber?"_

"No, I'm not helping her."

"_You sure? It is pretty dangerous."_

"Fine, indulge yourself."

"_It involves lethal plummets. Luckily for you, she has a portal gun. Unless it has a malfunction, she should be fine."_

"Whatever."

"_You really are pissed. I'd hate to get on your bad side."_

"Well you only get on my bloody bad side is by being a traitor! I'll never help Chell unless she can trust me."

"_Then you might as well join me in watching."_

"Sounds fine by me"

A monitor screen opened up on the wall in front of Wheatley. It showed Chell entering a test chamber. To be honest, Wheatley could see why GLaDOS had called it dangerous. The whole floor besides a small area surrounding the entrance was a pit of toxic water. One mistake and Chell would be swimming with the radioactive fishes.

He watched half-heartedly, wanting to make sure Chell stayed safe, yet too upset to try and help. Not until she truly needed and wanted his help, at least.

"_Interesting, isn't it? I find the differences in how humans react to tests fascinating. Why, even in dying, I've seen so many variations. It's like a collection of data that I'm planning on completing. Even with the measly testers you all have given to me, I was able to collect fascinating data."_

"Hmph"

It was kind of interesting, and Wheatley probably would have enjoyed it more had he been in a better mood. He turned his head away from the screen, not wanting to even think about Chell. He'd had enough of her for a lifetime. So moody, and untrusting.

"_Wheatley."_

He didn't want to listen to GLaDOS either, even though she was about a million times nicer. Everything was bugging him at this point.

"_Wheatley?"_

What did she want? Couldn't she see he wanted to be left alone? Women are just so meddlesome!

"_WHEATLEY!"_

"WHAT?"

"_LOOK!"_

Wheatley looked up at the monitor and froze. Chell had launched herself towards the exit, but she hadn't aimed properly. She was going to fall, anyone could see that.

"_Well?"_

"What?"

"_You care to watch until the finale or do you want to help her?"_

Wheatley wasn't sure. Chell looked like she could just grab the ledge of the platform leading to the exit door. Did she really need him?

"_Going once"_

Then again, her fingers might slip, then she would die and it would be all his fault.

"_Going twice"_

But if he did help her, she would just get pissed off. Would it still be worth it?

Wheatley made up his mind.

"_Going three times"_

Chell reached the edge, trying to grab on. She had a hold, but it wouldn't last long.

* * *

A/N

Cliffhanger! I'm really not sure who I'm shipping right now, but I think it may be headed towards a big complex mess. Also, HOW HAVE I NOT HEARD OF SOUL EATER FOR THIS LONG? It is AMAZING!


	4. Plan

A/N

You know, I think I'm beginning to understand why so many authors write sad stories. It's fun.

Hehe

* * *

Chell's fingers slipped and she started to fall.

"_Sold"_

She was going to fall, this was it. Wheatley hadn't even tried, just as Chell'd expected.

"_And the girl goes to…"_

Suddenly, she wasn't falling anymore. Someone had caught her. She looked up to see who.

"…_Wheatley."_

Wheatley was above her. He pulled her up, then, after making sure she was stable, let go and started to walk away. He didn't want Chell on his case about 'not wanting his help'. He didn't bloody care if she wanted to buy out NASA when her parents died, he was going to keep his deal.

(A/n: Starkid reference above)

"Wait."

Wheatley turned around. He didn't want her scolding or anything, so he planned to just answer her question and walk away. Yet, Chell didn't ask a question, so he decided to talk.

"I don't care if you don't trust me, I can't let an innocent person die."

"Maybe you should learn to care more. Then you'll realize when someone just wants you gone."

"At least you're alive."

He left. This was the exact reason he hadn't wanted to talk to her. Chell confused Wheatley. He wanted to hate her, yet he couldn't seem to. Some part of him kept on saying 'she'll feel sorry later, just you wait' even though he knew that wasn't even a tiny bit bloody true.

"_Would you like to exchange your purchase for something else? Perhaps a lovely handbag?"_

"Haha, very funny. I'm just dying of laughter over here."

"_Well, you could be more optimistic."_

"I guess."

"_If you're worried on whether or not you did the right thing, I can say that you did."_

"Yeah? Well it didn't bloody seem like it"

"_I can't lie. Really, I can't"_

"Well that's comforting."

Wheatley punched a wall. He was so frustrated with people now.

"_Hey, I'm worried about you. You seem more down than usual."_

"Really? I thought I was being rather chipper!"

"_No need for bad sarcasm."_

"Yeah, sure."

"_God, you're depressing me now. I need to cheer you up"_

"And how do you go about doing that?"

"_Hmm…Wanna hear a song I found?"_

"Sure."

"_Here goes:"_

_She came without a farthing_

_A babe without a name_

_So much ado 'bout nothing_

_Is what she'd try to say_

_So much ado my lover_

_So many games we played_

_Through ev'ry fleeted summer_

_Through ev'ry precious day_

_All dead all dead_

_All the dreams we had_

_And I wonder why I still live on_

_All dead all dead_

_And alone I'm spared_

_My sweeter half instead_

_All dead and gone all dead_

_All dead all dead_

_At the rainbow's end_

_And still I hear her own sweet song_

_All dead all dead_

_Take me back again_

_You know my little friend's_

_All dead and gone_

_Her ways are always with me_

_I wander all the while_

_But please you must forgive me_

_I am old but still a child_

_All dead all dead_

_But I should not grieve_

_In time it comes to ev'ryone_

_All dead all dead_

_But in hope I breathe_

_Of course I don't believe_

_You're dead and gone_

_All dead and gone_

"…That didn't really cheer me up."

"_Well, I don't really have the largest amount of music available."_

"I'm sorry."

"_It's fine."_

"I think one good thing came out of this."

"_And that would be?"_

"Well, I have a plan now."

"_What?"_

"Well, I've found a way to get her anger out. Maybe then she'll trust me."

"_I wouldn't count on it."_

"Yeah, well it's the last hope I have at the moment, so I'm sticking to it."

"_You could always just give up. There's our deal to consider."_

"I'm not bloody giving up! I've already made plenty of mistakes; I can't let someone innocent get killed because of me!"

"_I just don't want you getting hurt, that's all."_

"Well we can't always have what we want, can we?"

"_A lesson you should learn yourself."_

"What do you know about lessons?"

"_Well, I do have an infinite span of knowledge."_

"Knowledge doesn't bloody count! It doesn't matter how much you know, or how thought out your plans are. Everything good comes from the heart. Oh, but I'm forgetting; you wouldn't know about that. You're just a heartless robot."

Silence. For a few moments no one spoke, the only noise other than the normal buzz of the facility was Wheatley's heavy, angered-filled breathing.

"_Say something like that again and the deal is off."_

GLaDOS' camera shut off. She was obviously pissed off, but that didn't matter to Wheatley. All he had the capacity to care about at the moment was proving himself to Chell. It was as if giving up and failing was worse than death. That would be a definite first for him.

Wheatley started to put his plan into action. It was fairly simple, actually; all it required was him 'being himself', as it were.

The first thing he had to do was enter the next chamber before Chell. This was fairly simple, since she was just finishing the current one. Once he was in, Wheatley would have to orient himself with the exit and stand in front of it, becoming a human barricade; looking down at the floor and not budging. Now all he had to do was wait for Chell to enter.

When she did, it was apparent that his presence was known. At first Chell pretended he wasn't there, and continued with the test. When it got to the point of exiting, though, the last part of his plan set in.

"Move," she said

"No"

"Move, I need to leave."

"No you don't"

"Yes I do! MOVE!"

She started to kick Wheatley's legs, but he didn't move. She slapped his face, then punched it. Still Wheatley held his ground. Sure it was stupid, but this was a good way to get anger out.

Chell moved on to a full on beating, hitting every exposed surface that wasn't awkward to hit.

"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"

Wheatley didn't care how much it hurt, he wasn't going to give up now. The pain really didn't faze him, he'd hurt himself accidentally enough to be able to withstand pain.

Chell went for the crotch, slightly knocking the breath out of him.

"Had enough?" he asked. Wheatley planned to stay there until she was on the verge of tears, when he would comfort her and earn her trust. Sadly, that didn't happen.

"No!"

Instead of getting sad, Chell just got angrier. She picked up the cube that had been used on a button and smacked Wheatley on the back of the head. This left him extremely dazed and made him go down onto his knees. He could hear Chell preparing for another blow. Here it comes. Chell smacked Wheatley again.

Everything went dark.

* * *

A/N

Another cliffhanger, sorry! Also, I'm extremely happy Soul eater ended the way it did. If Stein had stayed crazy, I might have had to hate the show.


End file.
